2025 BYD Shark 6 Premium Long Term

We don’t usually hang onto vehicles as long-termers for more than a couple of months. Then it’s on to the next. But the BYD Shark 6 isn’t a regular ute and we’ve got bigger plans for it.

New Zealand’s first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) ute arrived with plenty of noise around its price – $69,990 plus on-road costs – and even more about its promise. With dual motors, a 1.5-litre turbopetrol, four-wheel drive and a combined output of up to 320kW (not 430kW as sometimes stated overseas, the NZ version is slightly lower), the Shark lands squarely in the middle of a segment still dominated by diesel.

But does it measure up to Kiwi family life? We want to see what this thing is really like to live with when kitted out like a proper Kiwi ute should be. Think canopy, bullbar, maybe some roof-mounted lighting and possibly more aggressive bolt-ons down the track.

Plug-in hybrid ute life

Based at our Mangawhai outpost, the Shark’s been flung straight into daily duty. That means school runs, town trips and the occasional 100km slog into Auckland, a commute that’s proved revealing.

On local errands and short hauls, it’s been running entirely on electrons. BYD claims up to 100km of EV range, and around town we’re making good on that promise.

The Auckland run tells a slightly different story. At open-road speeds and with hills thrown in, we’re getting 60–70km of electric-only running before the 1.5-litre turbo kicks in and the Shark switches to hybrid mode. That’s not a deal-breaker (it’s how the system is meant to work) but compared with long-time EV runners, it does feel a touch short of the mark.

Still, over the first couple of weeks, we’ve clocked about 70 per cent of our driving on electricity, with the rest in hybrid mode. That’s a real-world saving when it comes to running costs, especially road user charges, compared with a full EV. When we are burning fuel, we’re seeing between 6 and 7L/100km, so averaged over total usage, we’re sitting around 2L/100km; that’s exceptional. We’ll keep tracking that mix as the months go on.

What’s it like to drive?

Better than you might think. The initial drive impressions suggested the Shark 6 was surprisingly competent, but we’re finding it more refined with each day. The ride is composed, even unladen and the steering is more SUV-like than ute in feel. It’s not floaty or vague, and there’s none of the skittishness that plagues some leaf-sprung rivals.

There’s proper weight to the chassis, thanks to that big 30kWh battery pack nestled between the rails, but the mass is low and well-balanced. Cornering, especially in slippery conditions, feels secure.

The only niggle so far? Brake dust. A lot of it. We’ve set the regeneration to high and expected the electric motors to do more of the stopping but clearly the friction brakes are still doing a fair bit of work. More aggressive regen levels (or a proper one-pedal mode) would go a long way to improving efficiency and reducing wear.

Handy interior

This is BYD’s most upmarket interior yet, and it shows. The materials feel a step up from those of the Atto 3 and there’s plenty of tech. The 12.8-inch rotatable touchscreen is crisp and responsive and BYD’s latest OS makes most tasks easy enough. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now wireless, and we’re pleased to see physical buttons for climate control. 

A couple of notes on the centre console and switchgear. The toggle switches aft of the transmission shifter can trap small items underneath them, including a frustrating-to-dig-out Kinder Surprise toy part. On the plus side, the grab handles on either side of the shifter clear everything and are perfectly spaced to rest a laptop at an angle for field work.

Another feature we’ve come to appreciate is the driver assistance tech. Our route home runs up the Northern Motorway and Northern Gateway Toll Road. The lane-keeping system and adaptive cruise control have performed flawlessly on this well-designed stretch, offering a genuine reduction in driver fatigue.

Road trip!

While we’ve been racking up commuting clicks, our colleague Mark Rainford from Inside China Auto grabbed the digital key – which you can send to fellow iPhone users via SMS – and gave it a different kind of test: a trip to 90 Mile Beach. 

After a few days of off-road sand driving, he returned with a grin and a glowing report.

We’ll be treating the BYD Shark like a true long-term tester – accessories, mods, and more. 

Think of this as a first splash into hybrid ute ownership, with regular updates to come. 

And when we’re done? Discussions are underway for something really special.